Celebrate the winners of the Illinois state-wide Gwendolyn Brooks Youth Poetry Awards.
Miss Brooks created and continued these awards for thirty years–honoring the poems of exceptional young Illinois poets in kindergarten through the twelfth grade.
2019 Winners by Grade
1st Grade
“Colors” by Scarlett Phelps – Carlinville Primary School, Carlinville
2nd Grade
“I Want a Cat” by Sally Weinberg – Washington Elementary, Evanston
“Rainbow” by Matilda Zeman and Greta Johnson – Avery Coonley School, Downers Grove
3rd Grade
“Dear Llamacorn” by Sadie Haupt – North Shore Country Day School, Winnetka
“Storm” by Tessa Pruden – The Children’s School, Oak Park
4th Grade
“In the Midst of Black and White” by Karlina Tolksdorf – Fairview South School, Skokie
“Nightingale” by Ian Brost – Chicago Free School, Chicago
5th Grade
“Nature’s Impermanence” by Eleri Swanson – Fairview South School, Skokie
“Confetti color 1311” by Parmita Kashanipour – Avery Coonley School, Batavia
6th Grade
“Clouds of Emotion” by Athena Gottlieb – Pritzker Elementary, Chicago
“A World of Wonder” by Katrina Lin – John C. Haines Elementary, Chicago
7th Grade
“The Gargoyle of Notre Dame” by Joshua Reginold – Fairview South School, Skokie
“In The Safe House” by Eleanor Ross – Rebirth Poetry Ensemble , Chicago
8th Grade
“We Left School” by Ben Divovich – Fairview South School, Skokie
“‘Hope’ is the thing with feathers- ‘Dread’ is the thing with talons-” by Arwyn Gorecki – Fairview South School, Skokie
9th Grade
“The Tower” by Sylvia Hernandez – George Washington High School, Chicago
“Bug camp. Age twelve. Mississippi: The Killing Jar” by Ruby Davis – Oak Park and River Forest High School, Oak Park
10th Grade
“The Penal System” by Keondre C. – Nancy B. Jefferson Alternative School / Free Write Arts & Literacy, Chicago
“Cicero ” by Mauricio L. – Nancy B. Jefferson Alternative School / Free Write Arts & Literacy, Chicago
11th Grade
“My Existence Be” by Isaiah Jamison – Chicago Math and Science Academy, Chicago
“Mama Loves You!” by Aanika Pfister – Lane Tech, Chicago
12th Grade
“They call us Alien” by Cristina Hernandez – Gage Park High School , Chicago
“Some Sort of Ode to the Gay Cousin” by Ivy Weston – Whitney M. Young Magnet High School, Chicago
*Coming Soon: A document of the winning poems to read
2019 Honorable Mentions by Grade:
2nd Grade
“Flea” by William Zhong – The Avery Coonley School, Naperville
“My Color Poem” by David Elliott – LaSalle Language Academy, Chicago
3rd Grade
“The Commercials” by Olivier Axelrad – The Children’s School, Oak Park
4th Grade
“The Dinky Blue Park” by Lillian Jameson – Chicago Free School, Chicago
5th Grade
“Night” by Travis Gerst – Sacred Heart, Chicago
“Just One” by Kalina Gandurski – Avery Coonley , Lockport
6th Grade
“The Battlefield” by Amelia Gottschalk – Fairview South School, Skokie
“Friends” by Alex Gerstein – Wood Oaks Junior High, North Brook
7th Grade
“Rebecca Harding Davis” by Paul Toliopoulos – Fairview South School, Skokie
“Beautiful city” by Afra Abdul – Fairview South School, Skokie
8th Grade
“Mascara Running” by Alyssa Jaster – Avery Coonley, Glen Ellyn
10th Grade
“Jeans” by Isabella Fletcher – Pontiac Township High School, Pontiac
11th Grade
“beach homes.” by Elle Morson – Waubonsie Valley High School, Aurora
“Bathing in Alabaster Oceans” by Micah Daniels – Oak Park River Forest HS, Oak Park
12th Grade
“Morg-man” by Morgan Varnado – Oak Park River Forest High School, Oak Park
“All Girls Want To Be Pandas” by Corina Robinson – Oak Park and River Forest High School, Oak Park
*Coming Soon: A document of the winning poems to read
Learn more about the Gwendolyn Brooks Youth Poetry Awards.